Bukayo Saka has jokingly teased Kai Havertz for ruining his chances of scoring his first-ever Arsenal hat-trick.
The Gunners Academy graduate shone during his side's 3-0 win over Monaco in the Champions League. It's a win that puts the north Londoners in a promising position to potentially secure a place in the automatic qualification spots for the knockout rounds.
Saka opened the scoring with a simple finish from a low cross from Gabriel Jesus. He then doubled his evening's work by taking advantage of a terrible mistake from the away side as they tried to play from the back, taking his record to nine goals and 13 assists in all competitions this season. The England winger might not have secured the match ball for the first time in his career until late in his career.
He fired a low effort towards goal which ended up in the back of the net via deflections off teammate Havertz and Monaco star Thilo Kehrer. And Saka has now jokingly taken aim at the German striker for getting in the way of his hat-trick.
But he still believes his debut treble is just around the corner. Speaking to TNT Sport, he said: “Yes, pretty much! Him [Havertz] got in the way. But don't worry, it's coming. It's coming.”
And while he spoiled the fact that he didn't take home the match ball, Saka was full of praise for another of his teammates. Gunners Academy graduate Myles Lewis-Skelly has been a surprise inclusion on the team sheet amid an ongoing injury crisis.
He impressed and even played a key role in the opening goal for Arteta's side. And Saka was equally impressed after giving the youngster some valuable advice before kick-off.
He added: “I just said to him: 'This is his level', he has to have no doubts, play the game and have confidence. We'll see what he does in training.”
“We're happy for him and he played a key role in the first goal. He just has to keep going. I'm just so proud of him.”
Both Saka and Lewis-Skelly will look to extend their striking forms this weekend as the Gunners return to the Premier League. They welcome struggling Everton to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon and can close the gap with number one Liverpool to just three points with a win.
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